


When Rebel Met Princess

by rosymamacita



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, New York City, when harry met sally fusion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-09
Updated: 2018-02-09
Packaged: 2019-03-16 01:30:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13625706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosymamacita/pseuds/rosymamacita
Summary: College is done and Clarke is moving to New York City to start her life but she's waiting for the guy she's giving a ride to. Bellamy Blake, it turns out, is an unrepentant ass, and she's stuck in a car for 9 hours with him, it is JUST as terrible as she thought it would be. Until it's not.But life moves on and she's certain she'll never see him again.Then they meet again.And again.And again.This is just the way life wants them to be.





	When Rebel Met Princess

**Author's Note:**

  * For [officalchacha15.tumblr.com](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=officalchacha15.tumblr.com).



Clarke checked her watch yet again. This guy was late. Her friend swore up and down he was a good guy and a great traveling companion and he was responsible and a good driver and he’d split the cost of gas with her on their trip from Ann Arbor to New York City. He needed a ride and she had a spot in her car. But he hadn’t impressed her so far.

He wasn’t here yet and she was itching to get going. They were on a schedule. They could get to NYC before night fall if they were careful. 

She didn’t really need the money, but she thought she could do a good service at the same time as she could save a bit of her trust fund. She was being cautious, she knew, but New York was expensive, and she didn’t have a job yet although she had half a dozen job interviews lined up with museums and galleries. She wasn’t taking anything for granted.

She checked her watch again. Still no guy. She was half ready to just leave, although that would be the worst thing in the world for the guy, to leave him with no way to get to NYC at the last moment.

She sighed exasperatedly and opened her door to get into the car, still not sure if she was going to drive away or just sit for a while.

“Taking off without me, princess?” A deep voice said into her ear. From entirely too close. That’s why she got a shiver up her spine. Too close. She spun around. 

“Bellamy Blake?” she said before she had the good opportunity to get a look at him. Woah. Messy hair and dark eyes and broad shoulders. Woah.

“One and the same.” 

There was a girl behind him, tall and far skinnier than Clarke would ever be, with legs that went on forever and long dark hair and pouty lips. Clarke cleared her throat and was about to tell him that she only had room for one passenger, when instead of introducing her, Bellamy Blake turned around and kissed the girl so thoroughly that Clarke’s own toes curled in reaction. 

Jesus Christ. 

Then as quick as it started it was over. He slapped the girl on the ass like a disrespectful, misogynistic, cocky prick, and she sauntered off. He turned back around and smirked at Clarke. 

“You’re late,” she growled.

He shrugged, casually but not casual at all. “Couldn’t be helped. Clarke Griffin, right? You ready to get out of here? Because I sure am.” 

Clarke bit her tongue. Half an hour late, that kind of display and not even an apology. Now she wished she HAD taken off. Instead she just nodded and opened up the back. “You can put your stuff back there.”

He held up a duffel. “I travel light.” He looked at her range rover and then he looked at her, up and down. A muscle leapt in his jaw. “Nice car, princess.”

Clarke blushed. She knew it was a ridiculously expensive car and she didn’t need anything that big, but it had been her dad’s and he was dead. And she wasn’t giving him an apology either. Why should she be sorry? “Thanks,” she said, and got in the car. 

***

Bellamy knew this trip would be a disaster when he saw the golden haired princess in designer duds standing next to a car that cost more than the house he grew up in. And he also knew from the beginning that she was out of his league. 

He wanted to her to know what she was missing and probably kissed Roma a bit too… thoroughly. He liked the fury in the princess’ eyes when he slapped Roma’s ass, and the blush that heated her cheeks. Roma had laughed and walked off to have what she was calling her “summer of fun.” Nice to be her. His days of fun were over. 

The trip started off bad and only got worse. She not only owned a stupid Range Rover, but she had gotten her degree in Art History, the kind of major that was good for rich girls who didn’t have to think about the future. And he was right. She had a trust fund, and an apartment set up on the Upper West Side. 

Meanwhile he was crashing on his buddy Murphy’s couch down in Alphabet City until he could find a job as a waiter or bartender or construction worker, hell. His scholarship to Columbia was just barely going to cover his tuition for his masters, and he still had to pay for living and eating. Fine. Whatever. Her daddy would pay for everything and he never had a father. Excellent. Life wasn’t fair. And he was taking it out on her. So what? After this, they’d never see each other again.

If his sister were here, she’d slap the back of his head and tell him to stop being a jerk. 

Of course they got lost because she insisted on following an old map and not his GPS and one of the roads had been closed. And then they had to make an ill fated stop at a rest station in which everything went wrong, his card got declined because his last paycheck had been delayed, and then she had to rummage through her clothes to get a new outfit because he did NOT mean to spill that milkshake on her, so they were hopelessly behind schedule. Not that he really cared. They’d just get there later, but she seemed to think that was a disaster.

It had been a stupid plan. They should have taken it easy instead of trying to to push, She had no reason to get there by dinner time, she was just a control freak. It was now his turn to drive and he was muttering passive aggressive comments about EVERYTHING under his breath. And he wasn’t even sorry. She was too tired to argue any more and he took that as a victory. 

The road was quiet. It was the middle of nowhere, an hour past sundown. She was staring sullenly out the window with every muscle vibrating with anger, when her hand shot out and she grabbed Bellamy’s arm.

“Stop the car!” she shouted.

“What? What is it?!” Panic shot through him. He slowed down.

“There’s a little girl out there! All alone.”

“What the fuck are you talking about.”

“Look!” she pointed There was indeed a figure walking by the road. In the dark. Alone. Head down. “Stop the car.”

They should drive on by. The thought in his head came quick and then left. That was a little girl. Someone needed to make sure she was safe. He slowed down and pulled off the road just ahead of the girl as she was trudging towards them. Dammit. She kept trudging without even stopping. She didn’t know if they were trustworthy. Who had taught her stranger safety? Where were her parents?

Clarke was already out of the car. By the time he followed her, she was walking towards the girl. “Hey, do you need some help?” she was saying. “You need a ride?”

Bellamy shook his head. “She can’t get in the car with us. That’s not safe. To get in the car with strangers. She doesn’t know us.”

“Well I’m not leaving her here.” 

The girl stopped trudging. “I never should have gone with those guys,” she said.

“What guys?” Bellamy said, feeling protective all of a sudden. He would find the guys. “What did they do? Tell me where they are, we’ll take care of them.”

Clarke put a calming hand on his arm and kept it there.

“A bunch of kids from school. They’re dumb. They said we’d all hang out. It was a prank. They left me here and drove away.”

Bellamy clenched his teeth. Clarke was already talking, getting the girl to tell them her parents number so they could call and have them pick her up. They called and waited with the girl. 

Charlotte was her name. But as soon as they hung up with her parents, Charlotte started crying. Bellamy sat down on the road side and put an arm around her. Comforting her. He said anything he could, anything he remembered from when he comforted his little sister. He told her ridiculous stories about the kind of stunts he would pull as a kid and when he got revenge on the bullies who were teasing his sister for being a loner. Oh he got her laughing. And by the time her parents pulled up and she ran to her mom, Clarke was watching him. 

Charlotte left with her parents after many thanks, and they got back into the car and on the road without a word. They’d lost another hour and a half. He didn’t find he minded. And he was no longer angry at Clarke. She’d known just what to do. She’d known what was right. And she jumped right into it. Maybe she wasn’t so bad. 

***

When they got to NYC, it was past midnight and Clarke pulled up outside of Bellamy’s friend’s apartment. 

“I don’t like you having to drive alone to your apartment,” he said, frowning at her. “You’re not even going to be able to find a spot on the street to park this monstrosity. You should let me go with you and then I’ll take the subway home.”

Clarke scoffed. “Bellamy, I’m not a little kid by the side of the road. I was born here. And besides, my dad left me his apartment when he died, and it has a parking space, that fits this monstrosity, since it was his.” 

“Your dad died and left you all that?” Bellamy stared at her in shock.

“Yeah, sorry. I know. Princess. Lucky me.”

“No, I didn’t mean that. I just meant. I’m sorry your dad died.” Now he looked like he was feeling awkward.

“Oh,” Clarke said, awkward back. “Thanks.” This was how it would end. Probably the best. “Good luck with grad school, Bellamy.”

He huffed a laugh and opened the car door, stepping out with his duffel bag. “Thanks. Good luck with your job search.” 

They stared at each other for a moment too long before he shut the door and gave the car a couple of taps. He walked off. She was sure she’d never see him again and was, surprisingly, sad. She shook her head to rid it of the nonsense and drove off.

***

Bellamy was on his way back to his apartment, late, after his closing shift bartending when he heard the fight. His hackles rose at the sound of a man berating a woman on the street. It was the middle of the night and no one else was around. Not safe. Murphy always made fun of him for his protective instincts, hell, his sister gave him hell over it, but there was no way he was going to walk past a woman possibly in danger.

His adrenaline pumped until he was full-on seething by the time he walked up to the couple in the doorway on the quiet street.

The guy grabbed her arm and dragged her closer.

“Hey!” Bellamy snapped, “This guy giving you trouble?”

The dude startled and looked up at Bellamy, furious. He was almost as tall as Bellamy, but Bellamy had the advantage in weight and muscle as far as he could tell. He was ready. 

The girl, blonde and rather small, yanked her arm out of dude’s grip.

The guy turned his attention to Bellamy instead of the girl. Good. “No! We’re fine. Mind your business.”

“The hell we are, Finn. We’re done. I thought I was clear about that. This was your last chance, but obviously you are not who I thought you were at all. And you don’t ever get to touch me again. Thank you…” she turned to Bellamy to thank him. She visibly startled. “Bellamy?” 

“Uh, do I know you?”

“Clarke. I’m Clarke Griffin. We road tripped from Ann Arbor together.”

The memory snapped back into place. The blonde princess. Soft and sheltered. “Clarke.” Now she was older, she had an edge. Like things hadn’t gone her way. He turned his attention back to her boyfriend. “Good to see you again.” HIs words were for Dude. She was not alone on this street anymore.

“Go back to Ann Arbor, Bellamy,” Finn warned. “I’m talking to my girlfriend and it’s none of your business.”

“Oh it’s my business, for sure. She’s my friend. And it sounds like she’s not your girlfriend anymore. If she wants me to leave I’ll leave. Until then you are shit out of luck, my man. Do you want me to leave, Clarke?”

“I do not, Bellamy. In fact, Bellamy, would you walk me to my friend’s apartment, it’s not far.”

“Clarke. Stop with this nonsense. Come home with me. We belong together.”

“We never belonged together at all. I will send Wells to pick up my stuff this weekend. Wow. I’m so glad you didn’t make room for all my stuff in your place and I had to put it into storage. I should have realized that was a sign that this relationship was going to be all about you, and I was just going to be side piece in my own life.” She sighed and turned a brilliant smile on Bellamy and he was stunned by it. “I suddenly feel so unburdened. You came along at just the right time, Bellamy. Thanks. Let’s get out of here.”

Bellamy glowered at Finn one last time before he gestured for Clarke to precede him. She turned and flounced down the street and he followed. Bellamy could feel Finn glaring daggers into his back until they turned the corner.

“Are you really okay?” He asked quietly.

“I’m completely keyed up but yes. I’m finally okay. I was trying so hard to make that work and this was the final straw. Thank you so much for walking me. It’s just up the block here.”

“Are you going to be safe? He seemed pretty possessive.” There was a time when his mom had been stalked by one of her ex boyfriends. It hadn’t been good at all 

Clarke laughed, probably just in relief and reaction, but the sound set something light free in his chest. “Yeah. I will be. It’s my best friend Raven’s place. Finn’s ex. First, she’s a badass and carries a knife, and second, he’s terrified of her because she doesn’t buy any of his bullshit. It’s the safest place I can be. If he shows up the two of us together will tear him apart.”

It was Bellamy’s turn to laugh. “I forgot that you always surprise me.”

This smile was crooked and a little bit dangerous. The light feeling went deeper. 

“I forgot that you were an awesome guy.” 

Bellamy nearly stumbled. He didn’t know she’d thought that.

“Here we are. I told you it was close.”

“Oh okay.” Bellamy looked both ways. The street was still dead, and that loser was, last they knew, not that far away. “I’m not leaving you out here when your boyfriend might show up.”

She looked up at him and in the streetlight, her eyelashes were black and spiky with tears, and her eyes were huge and vulnerable, a midnight blue. She wasn’t as cool as she’d been pretending. “Thanks. I appreciate it.” She rang the intercom and it wasn’t too long before a startled voice came through the staticky com for the explanation, angry at Finn and telling her to come up. The door buzzed and Clarke pushed it open before she turned back to him. “Thank you so much.”

“Stop thanking me. It was nothing. I would have done it for a stranger.”

She laughed, but a tear slipped down her cheek. 

“Go on. Go upstairs,” he said. “Maybe I’ll see you again some day.”

She ducked her head and glanced up at him one more time before letting the door close. He watched through the window as she climbed the stairs and disappeared.

 

***

 

Clarke moved in with Raven. She didn’t know why she hadn’t done that in the first place when she had to sell her apartment over a legal dispute. The owner of the building had always had a problem with her father, and didn’t like her either. In the end, she just wanted to leave anyway, and selling it gave her a nice nest egg. Why she chose to move in with the guy she wasn’t 100% sure about in the first place, she didn’t know. It was so much better with Raven.

She had to take the little room with the window looking out onto the air shaft, but what did she care? She was too busy with her new job as an art therapist, or hanging out with her friends, or sketching scenes of New York in a different neighborhood every week. 

That’s how she ran into him the first time. She was sitting on the bench in Riverside Park, doing an ink sketch of the sailboats on the Hudson when some guy sat down beside her. She was pulling her bag closer and shooting him a dirty look when she realized who it was. “Bellamy!”

“Hey, Clarke. I like your drawing.” 

“Thanks, what are you doing here?”

He laughed like she’d made a joke. Upon reflection she realized it was a dumb question. He was wearing shorts and sneakers and was kind of… glistening with sweat. He just threw her, is all. She’d thought about him quite a bit since he rescued her from Finn that time. 

“Jogging. I live on Riverside Drive. This is my regular route.”

“Oh, you live around here?” He nodded. “Me too, actually.” She closed her sketch pad. “I moved in with my friend Raven. You know, where you dropped me off that time?”

He smiled. He had quite the smile. “So you didn’t get back together with that guy. Finn?”

“Oh!” Perish the thought. “No. God no. That was already over. You just witnessed him figuring it out. He’s long gone. I’m free now,” she said and nearly kicked herself. He hadn’t been asking. He didn’t care. 

“Freedom is good,” he said. See? He didn’t care. He ducked his head and stood up. “I just wanted to say hi, and now I’m glad to know we’re neighbors. I’ll let you get back to drawing.”

“Yeah,” she peered up at him against the sunny sky. He looked like a god. It was Much. “Maybe we’ll run into each other again.” He nodded and jogged off and her heart kind of sunk. She wished he had stayed to talk. But oh well. She’d been making stories up in her head again.

The next time, he caught her at Zabars, with a basket full of salty snacks, ice cream, and wine. It was the finale of her and Raven’s favorite post-apocalyptic show addiction and they had to be prepared, but he looked in her bag and teased her about the junk. They stood in the check out line and joked while he bought his healthy vegetables and whole grains, (seriously, quinoa? What is quinoa, Bellamy? I think you made that up,) and said goodbye, ’til next time.

There was a next time. 

There was the time he bumped into her coming out of the subway, and she was sure he bumped her on purpose, with that grin on his face. And the time SHE was the one jogging, against her protests, really. Raven made her. That was the time she introduced Raven to Bellamy and Raven then dragged her off to the park while he walked the other direction. And then Raven never stopped teasing her about her adorable stalker. Which was not funny, because Finn HAD done the stalker thing for a while, and she knew it. But she just thought it was hysterical, how any mention of Bellamy made her blush.

Bellamy ran into her again and again and it was always her who was caught unawares, which is why she loved it so much when she came upon him sitting on the floor of Shakespeare and Co, reading some giant tome back in the stacks. He jumped when she said his name, because he was wrapped up in whatever it was he was reading. Then he laughed and patted the floor for her to join him. She did. And they talked and talked until he asked if she wanted to take the conversation to the diner for a cup of coffee, because he could really use one. 

And after that. They were friends. It felt like something that was a long time coming. They went out to bars every friday where they had a running bet over which one of them could get the most numbers. His tally was much higher, but then she wasn’t really trying so hard. He helped her sell her monstrosity of a range rover and buy a little toyota. She’d wanted to give up the car entirely, but he convinced her they could go on adventures with their friends, and they did, to little artsy towns or the ren faire and the beach on fire island. They went to movies and he hung out at her apartment with Raven and she went on adventures that Murphy set up for them and when there were parties they were invited together and it felt, after not too long, that being together was natural, and right. They were friends. Close friends. Best friends.

Raven looked over at her one day, sitting on the couch regaling her with the latest installment of “you won’t believe what Bellamy did,” and she put a hand on her knee to stop her.

“Clarke, You know you’re in love with him, right?”

And Clarke blinked. Her jaw dropped open and she stared. 

Of course. 

This did not make anything better. In fact it made it worse, because the latest Bellamy story had been about the sexy girl he’d been hitting on, who had turned him down with a death glare. He clearly did not feel the same about Clarke.

 

***

 

The farmer’s market was Clarke’s favorite place to go, so Bellamy made sure to be there to mock her glee over the native honey and the handicrafts and the musicians playing acoustic while she stood there with her fresh bouquet of flowers and his favorite smile. 

Today it was men playing bluegrass. He didn’t particularly like bluegrass, but it wasn’t as if he didn’t like the fresh fruits and vegetables. Plus there was that smile. And he really did love going there with her, but he wasn’t going to tell her that. 

He was stealing strawberries from her shopping bag when he caught sight of Gina on the other side of the audience watching the musicians.

“Shit,” he hissed into Clarke’s ear.

“What is it?” She was immediately concerned and he had to laugh.

“No, shit. It’s nothing. It’s just my ex. Over there, in the crowd. Don’t gawk. Green scarf.” 

Clarke smiled at him with that particular way of hers, that made him think she was saying something else. And then glanced at Gina and then back again. “She’s pretty.”

“She’s beautiful, and smart and nice. She was the whole package. I should have been happy with her,” he said. “But she broke up with me because she said I’d never let myself love anyone. That I was too damaged. That I’d never let myself be vulnerable. That I’d never find someone.” The way he felt when she dumped him was right there on the surface. How much it had hurt. He’d thought they were going somewhere. He thought she was special. But it wasn’t enough for her and it touched on something inside of him. Something he was afraid of. That maybe he was too broken to ever have love. He couldn’t look at her. He couldn’t look at Clarke. “Shit.” He said. “I don’t know why I even bothered. She’s right.”

Clarke hummed unhappily. Scolding. “No she’s not.”

“Yeah, well have you ever seen me in a relationship with anyone? Different girl every weekend.”

“You don’t do that as much anymore,” she said. 

Maybe she was right. He wasn’t so interested in that anymore, but he didn’t feel worth someone like Gina either. He shrugged. “That’s what I’m good for. A quick hook up. I’m not someone someone could love.”

She wrapped her hand around his wrist. “That’s not true, Bellamy.” She pulled him towards her and he stumbled, unprepared, finding himself suddenly pressed up against her. She raised her free hand and put it to his jaw, raising it to look at her. “That’s not who you are. Okay?” She smiled again. He loved her smile. He never saw it enough. And here it was, melting his cold dead heart. 

He brushed her hair back and tucked it behind her ear. He couldn’t see her eyes. He needed to see her eyes. They were smiling too, so he smiled back. It was like the skies opened up. It was like the future was suddenly here. It was Clarke.

“Bellamy?” Gina was there. He turned to face her and so did Clarke.

“Gina. Hi. How are you,” he said trying not to be awkward. “This is Clarke—“

Clarke stepped in front of him, just slightly, extending her hand to Gina. “His girlfriend.” 

And then his ex girlfriend Gina was shaking hands with his definitely NOT girlfriend Clarke and Clarke was sunny and bright and really ON. “I’ve heard so much about you,” she said and Bellamy was certain that she really hadn’t, but then she started asking questions about how Gina was doing and apparently maybe he’d talked about Gina more than he’d thought. 

They caught up. And Clarke tucked herself up against his side, her arm tight around his waist as she chatted with Gina, and her breasts, dear god, her breasts pressed up against his chest, so soft. Her hips leaned into his. Bellamy’s brain just about short circuited. 

It was good that Clarke and Gina were holding the conversation without him because he didn’t think he’d be able to. 

“I’m glad to see you’re happy, Bellamy,” Gina said and her smile seemed sincere but that was it. He didn’t remember loving her smile the way he loved Clarke’s.

Clarke was smiling up at him now. Yes. He loved her smile.

“I am happy,” he said. And Gina said something else and he murmured goodbye or something but he wasn’t paying attention because Clarke was kissing his neck below his ear and nuzzling the skin there. 

Gina left. He thought. But really his thoughts were too wrapped up in what he suddenly knew. 

He loved Clarke. 

Clarke giggled into his neck. “I think she’s gone. What do you think, you think she still thinks you’re too broken to find love?”

He pulled her back. Looked at her. Shocked to his core. She was still smiling. And her smile was full of love. 

He couldn’t help it. He kissed her. He had to. He pressed his mouth to hers, tangling his fingers in her hair. She gasped and he licked the warmth of her mouth. She dropped her bags at their feet and wrapped her arms around his back as if she needed to hold on. He deepened the kiss and she responded in kind.

A horn honked in the distance and he pulled back. Suddenly realizing what he’d done. Where they were. She took a step back. His heart was racing. “Did I do the wrong thing?” Suddenly nervous.

She was visibly trying to catch her breath, her cheeks pink and her mouth swollen. She swallowed heavily. “Do you think you did the wrong thing?”

He half laughed. “I hope not.” He reached out and slid his fingers between hers. “I really hope not.”

“Oh,” she said, blinking. She took another step back into him. “What happened? I thought you didn’t feel that way about me. You never said anything.” 

“I didn’t know. I hadn’t thought.” He knew he sounded like he had no words. He didn’t. “It just happened. I couldn’t help it.” 

“Oh.” And this time the sound was small. And sad. She ducked her head, noticed the bags she’d dropped and bent to retrieve them. “If it’s just a thing… okay. It’s okay. I should probably head home. I’ve got work tomorrow and I need to get some stuff done.” She turned away from him and he thought she was going walk away and go back to the way they were, just friends. And he realized he couldn’t. He couldn’t do that. He couldn’t forget how he felt. He couldn’t forget the way she looked at him like she loved him too. He couldn’t forget how he wanted her to. 

He reeled her in by her hand. She hadn’t let go. “Clarke,” he said. And he kissed her again, tenderly, gently, because she deserved to be treated with care. She kissed him like she was drowning in him. She melted into him as if his arms were the only place she wanted to be. Then she pulled away. Not all the way. She kept her hands on his waist and he liked them there. 

“I can’t Bellamy. I can’t. Not if it doesn’t mean anything—I can’t just be some girl.”

Then he understood. “I love you,” he said. And he felt so stupid. He thought he’d loved her since he met her. Since he’d hated her fresh out of college. She had always challenged him. She had always pushed him. She had always made him feel heard. And he loved her. “God, Clarke, you’re the best person I know. You’re so smart and funny and bitchy and you never let up. And god you’re so beautiful it’s like a light comes from inside of your soul. Come home with me.” She gasped. “No. That’s not right. Be my girlfriend. Live with me.”

“What?”

“It’s not enough. Jesus Clarke. What have I been doing without you? What has been wrong with me? Clarke. Marry me.”

She shook her head as if she couldn’t believe it. He couldn’t either. But now nothing else made sense without loving her. It was true down to his toes.

“Bellamy!” The word escaped her in a breath. “Where did this come from?”

He laughed. He felt broken open. “I don’t know. When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, it turns out you want to start right away.” 

She laughed too, and she reached up and wiped away tears he didn’t realize he was crying. “Okay,” she said. “But how about we start one step at a time.” She took a deep breath and let it out as if she had been holding it in all this time. “I love you, too.”

“Oh,” he said. And it lit him up inside to hear it. “Did you know?”

She shrugged. “I knew about me. I didn’t know how you felt.”

“Jesus, Clarke, I didn’t know either. I don’t know why I didn’t know.”

“Because you are a very stupid man. You with your ivy degree and your big books and your philosophy. You miss the little things.”

“This isn’t little, Clarke. This is big. This is the biggest. This is everything. It’s like the air and water and sun.”

“You are so dramatic.” She laughed and leaned into him like she was home and he loved it.

“Come home with me. I’ll slow down.”

She laughed throatily and looked up at him through her eyelashes. “No you won’t.”

Her gravelly whisper shot straight through him. “Fuck.” He was desperate for her. “No I won’t.”

She kissed him by his ear. “I won’t either,” she whispered, and she caught him speechless again but it was okay, because she led him by the hand through the farmers market to his home where they started their life together.


End file.
